Rickshaw warning for Arab tourists

Arab tourists are being warned to be aware of unscrupulous rickshaw drivers, who are charging up to £200 for short journeys from Selfridges to Harrods

The Licenced Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) is giving leaflets to tourists, warning them that some rickshaw drivers are charging up to £200 for short journeys, such as that from Selfridges in Oxford Street to Harrods, a distance of around two miles.

Taxi drivers have produced a leaflet in Arabic warning tourists about using rickshaws without agreeing a reasonable price Credit: LTDA

The LTDA has now produced a warning leaflet in Arabic to warn visitors of the possible dangers of using rickshaws. It has also used an announcement on the side of a van parked at Marble Arch.

A van warning tourists in Arabic about rickshaws, which the LTDA claims are overcharging tourists. Credit: LTDA

“The LTDA has received dozens of complaints, via our taxi driving members, from Arab tourists who have been ‘Ripped Off’ by unscrupulous Rickshaw Riders for short rides around London. £200 from Selfridges to Harrods is not uncommon and £50 to go a few hundred yards is regularly reported. In an effort to protect visitors to London and safeguard our Capitals good name the LTDA have produced a warning leaflet in Arabic concerning the dangers of using rickshaws. We have produced a similar poster on our Advan which is parked at Marble Arch in the heart of the West End. All day we will be distributing leaflets in this very visual and probably controversial attempt to highlight what is happening to vulnerable non English speaking tourists in London in 2014.”